the amazing race

After winning the $1 million prize on 'The Amazing Race,' Ernie Halvorsen and Cindy Chiang dropped in on 'Live!' (weekdays, syndicated on on ABC) to tell Kelly and guest-host Taye Diggs about what it was like to compete in, and ultimately win the competition that took them on a global adventure.

Kelly asked the engaged couple whose idea it was to go on the show. "It was her idea," Ernie said, and Cindy elaborated. "When we first started dating he was like, 'Oh, let's go out to dinner,' and I was like 'No, we have to watch the show.'" Ernie talked about the regimen that Cindy, a self-professed type-A personality, created for the couple to prepare for the competition.

The final three teams took off from Panama headed back to the United States for the final leg of this edition of 'The Amazing Race' (Sun., 8PM ET On CBS). When the final destination city was revealed to be Atlanta, all three remaining teams immediately knew this would give an edge to Marcus and Amani because that's their hometown. Was it enough for the married couple to win?

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Unlike some past seasons, it looked like one pivotal moment dropped one team behind, eliminating any chance of a close finish. At the flight simulator, it was Marcus and Amani who struggled to land the plane and essentially cost themselves a shot at winning.

Whenever a new leg of 'The Amazing Race' (Sun., 8PM ET on CBS) starts, you have to forget what came before. New challenges often lead to new emerging leaders. But one thing has been pretty consistent on this season. Andy and Tommy have had the luckiest run, helping elevate them to six first-place finishes. And Cindy has been so jealous of their success.

She's the kind of crazed perfectionist and competitive personality that makes her fun to watch on the 'Race,' but also makes you think she'd probably drive you crazy in the real world. Actually, she kind of drives me a bit crazy on the show, too. Sometimes you just want to tell her to relax and enjoy the experience.

Based on the Patricia Cornwell novel, the film will be part of TNT's Mystery Movie Night and debut spring 2012. Madsen will play police chief Judy Hammer and Stringfield will play her top deputy, Virigina West. The two make a serial killer their top priority.

After last week's non-elimination, continuous leg of 'The Amazing Race' (Sun., 8PM ET on CBS), the action never let up as the five remaining teams continued fighting their way through Europe. With raft-building, pigeon chasing, waffle making and test driving, the adrenaline never let up.

The challenge that only allowed one of the contestants to navigate the test course in a new Ford Mustang left Andy jealous when partner Tommy was selected to drive. As a car enthusiast, he was really bummed to miss out on that great opportunity.

There was no room to hide on this week's episode of 'The Amazing Race' (Sun., 8PM ET on CBS) when the Racers visited the European Parliament Building in Brussels, Belgium. Sadly for them, they weren't there to learn about the political machinations of the European Union, or to sample such Belgian gastronomic delights as beer, or mussels and fries with mayonnaise.

Instead, the teams got a taste of the favorite pastime of Belgium's most famous son -- no, not Tintin or Jacques Delors -- Jean-Claude Van Damme: Bodybuilding! It was time to break out the shaving foam, breathe in and strike a pose wearing nothing but a smile and a ridiculously small and shiny posing pouch.

As Andy gamely applied bronzer to fellow snowboarder Tony's lower regions he sighed "Our friendship has hit a whole new level." Former NFL tight end (no pun intended) Marcus may have been the only one who actually enjoyed the experience, saying "I really got into it." He was rewarded for his efforts with some very enthusiastic whistling from the ladies in the crowd.

We've got an exclusive sneak peek at the bodybuilding challenge that'll leave you running to the gym in shame.

'It's Speedo Time,' as the episode title says, and the five remaining teams travel to Brussels, Belgium, where they're forced to get in touch with their more muscular sides for their Detour task. Judging by the photos, no one -- including host Phil Keoghan -- has a problem with that.

Take a peek at our six exclusive photos to see what kind of exhibitionist action is happening and just how much skin is being shown off.

While you hate to see travel situations be the deciding factor on 'The Amazing Race' (Sun., 8PM ET on CBS), it's also frustrating when teams work hard to pull ahead and then an equalizer brings them all back even. Zac & Laurence pulled a very clever move at the airport, getting a much earlier flight, but it ultimately didn't matter.

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Everyone equalized waiting for the next task to open for business -- well, except for Marcus & Amani, who got lazy at the airport and assumed no one was getting a flight the night before. Still, it was a tight race to the finish this week.

Just a week after news spread that Ethan Zohn's cancer had returned, the 'Survivor: Africa' winner proved that he wasn't going to let the cancer crush his spirits by completing the New York City marathon.

It was an emotional moment for both Zohn and his girlfriend or eight years, Jenna Morasca, who was there when he received the news that his cancer had returned to his lungs. But Zohn wasn't going to let his aching body stop him from achieving his goal. He was determined to outrun the cancer.

"My quads were burning, my hamstrings felt like they were about to rip off," he told People magazine after the marathon. "But I knew with every step I was crushing little cancer cells on the road. I even wrote 'f--k canzer' on the bottom of my shoes. That's what kept me going."

No matter how great your performance is over the long haul, in the end, all that truly matters on 'The Amazing Race' (Sun., 8PM ET on CBS) is the final sprint to the finish line.

After leading most of the way, engaged couple Ernie and Cindy started to flag as they neared the end point (possibly because Ernie was also carrying Cindy's pack), but unlucky for them, pro-snowboarding team Andy and Tommy were hot on their heels.

In the end, it came down to a matter of inches between the winning team and second place, which made it all the more frustrating for the losers.

Ethan Zohn's cancer is back. The winner of 'Survivor: Africa' and recent contestant on 'The Amazing Race' told People his cancer returned in September.

"It's localized in my lung area," Zohn said. "But it's good that it's not all over my body."

In 2009, Zohn was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called CD20-positive Hodgkin's lymphoma. After undergoing treatment, Zohn revealed he was cancer-free in late April 2010.

Zohn's girlfriend, fellow 'Survivor' winner Jenna Morasca, appeared with him on CBS's 'The Amazing Race.' She was also by his side when he got the news. However, Zohn said she's taking the news in stride. "We're both filled with fear and anger and anxiety and gratitude and frustration. But there's so much love there. It's this whole spectrum of emotions."

Paying attention to details is key on 'The Amazing Race' (Sun., 8PM ET on CBS). That said, some things are just fundamental to the race and always have been. You simply must settle up with your driver before you can check in to a Pit Stop. And yet, season after season, we see teams that miss this crucial detail.

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Teams that forgot -- and there were two of them this week -- were lucky Phil didn't make them carry those beds back to pay off their trucks. With an equalizer at the start of this leg, it was essential that contestants race hard and smart from beginning to end.

Money is rarely a deciding factor on 'The Amazing Race' (Sun., 8PM ET on CBS), but it played a huge part this week. One particular cab ride proved incredibly expensive for many teams, costing them virtually all of their money.

Ernie and Cindy, who didn't convert their money from US dollars, didn't even seem to try to figure out how much money the driver needed. They simply threw $100 at him and assumed it was good. Unfortunately, the fare was closer to $150 US.

Rather than pay it in good grace, they both behaved rather horribly, telling him he was a terrible drive and acting like the victims in the whole thing.

'The Amazing Race' (Sun., 8PM ET on CBS) made its way to Thailand this week, where teams got a chance to give back to the region -- kind of -- after the 2004 tsunami ravaged the region. Particularly, the coral was devastated. So teams had an option to help rebuild the by building a coral nursery.

Of course, the other option was helping set up chairs and umbrellas on the beach which helps ... the toursim industry?

Both tasks proved more challenging than most teams expected, with twins Liz and Marie perhaps struggling the most with their umbrellas. Wind and umbrellas does not make a good combination.

In this third leg, the remaining nine teams on 'The Amazing Race' (Sun., 8PM ET on CBS) stayed in Indonesia and faced some true 'TAR' challenges. They had to perform physical labor, decipher clues and even count and remember Buddha statues. This means they didn't arrive at the finish in virtually the same order they left it.

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After catapulting to first place thanks to a keen eye last week, though, Andy & Tommy continued a solid and impressive run. They partnered with Laurence & Zac on the finale task, and the two pairs came in first and second for the second week in a row.